Friend, before we walk into the dust of this
parable, let me ask you something. What if we've
been told the story wrong? What if the parable
that's been preached for years is a cheerful...
Stewardship lesson is actually a dangerous critique
of empire. Most of us had heard it. Don't hide
your talent. Use what God gave you or lose it.
But here's the problem. That tidy interpretation
doesn't fit the Jesus we know. In fact, drags
God's name through the dirt. Making him look
like a cruel master who reaps where he does not
sow. That's not our God. That's exploitation,
not grace. Jesus wants you to see the difference.
So lean in. Because this parable is not a pep
talk, it's a gut punch. It's Jesus exposing systems
of greed and showing what happens when someone
finally has the courage to say, no more. And
if you're listening right now and that kind of
gospel stirs something in you, if you've ever
felt the weight of a system that demanded more
than you can give, then I want to invite you
to stay here with me. You're welcome. Don't just
listen. Help build the porch where grace still
gathers. Like, share, subscribe, drop a comment.
Tell me what this story means to you. When you
do, you're helping build a front porch on the
internet where the weary can sit and breathe
and remember Jesus again. So let's walk it together.
I'll see you at the end of the road. Well, our
Sergeant of Arms, Wayne, has given me the thumbs
up. And I decided last week that when Wayne says
it's time to go, we're going to go ahead and
start. But I am going to just jump right in.
Again, parables, we're talking parables tonight,
no different. So before we open this parable
together, let me take a moment to tell you why
this story matters so much and why it's so often
misunderstood. This is one of those parables
where the meaning feels slippery, even confusing.
And we've all heard it preached this way. It
goes like this. Don't hide your talents. God
gave you gifts. So sing louder, work harder,
use your abilities, or else God might take them
away. Every single one of us has heard this story
taught that way. Before I go on, let me also
remind you about one very important aspect about
parables. When Jesus is teaching a parable, he's
only teaching one message at a time. That parable
has one meaning. It is not open to interpretation.
That's what makes it different than a story.
For you to have ears to hear, you have to hear
the point Jesus is trying to make, even if the
story doesn't make sense to you any other way.
Okay, keep that in mind as I make my argument
tonight. And what happens is if we look at it
that way, it becomes a stewardship pet talk,
a sermon about productivity or volunteer hours
or how much we need to be doing with what we've
been given. But that is not what Jesus is talking
about here. Not at all. When you hear the word
talent, don't think. musical ability, athletic
skill, or personal strength. Jesus isn't giving
a motivational speech here. A talent wasn't a
gift. It was a crushing amount of money. 20 years
worth of wages. The kind of wealth only the rich
and the powerful ever actually get to touch.
And I wanted to kind of put it in modern context
to you, what would a talent be like today? So
I went on the Google, and I looked up the average
salary for an American today, well, in 2023,
was $40 ,000 a year. $40 ,000 times 20 equals
$800 ,000. Did I get that right? I hope so. So
the point here is that this parable is don't
waste your gifts. No. The point here is actually
far heavier and far sharper because in this parable,
Jesus is exposing a system of exploitation and
he's showing us what it might cost us to refuse
complicity. That's what makes this story both
dangerous and liberating. So with that in mind,
let's listen carefully to the parable itself.
As always, before we begin, I want to read the
whole scriptural passage so every single one
of us has the story right in the front of our
minds. We've just heard it. So, open your ears
as wide as your hearts. The word of God is about
to walk among us. Matthew chapter 25, verses
14 through 30. For it, when he says it, when
he's saying for it, he's talking about the kingdom
of God. for it will be like a man going on a
journey who called his servants and entrusted
them to his property. To one he gave five talents,
to another two, to another one, to each according
to his own ability. Then he went away. He who
had received the five talents went at once and
traded with them, and he made five talents more.
So it was also the same who had two talents who
went and made two talents more. But he who had
received the one talent went and dug it in the
ground and hid his master's money. Now after
a long time, the master of those servants came
and settled accounts with them. And he who had
received the five talents came forward bringing
five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered
to me five talents. Here, I have made five talents
more. His master said to him, well done, good
and faithful servant. You've been faithful over
a little. I will set you over much. Enter into
the joy of your master. And he also had the one
who had the two talents come forward saying,
master, you delivered to me two talents here.
I have two talents more. His master said to him,
well done, good and faithful servant. You've
been faithful over a little. I will set you over
much. Enter into. Joy of your master. He also
who had received the one talent came forward
saying, Master, I knew you were a hard man, reaping
where you do not sow, gathering where you have
scattered no seed. So I was afraid, and I went,
and I hid your talent in the ground here. Have
back what is yours. But his master answered him,
you wicked and slothful servant. You knew that
I reap where I have not sown and gather where
I have scattered no seed. Then you ought to have
invested my money with the bankers. And at my
coming, I would have received what at least was
my own with interest. So take that talent from
him. Give it to him who has the tin. For to everyone
who has, more will be given, and he will have
an abundance. But from the one who has not even
what he has will be taken away and cast the worthless
servant into the outer darkness. And that place
will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Beloved,
that is the word of the Lord. May it find a home
in our hearts. It's late in the day and the crowd.
has grown restless, the sun sliding down, throwing
long shadows across the Galilean hills. You've
been on your feet for hours, maybe all day. Your
sandals are worn with grit. Your stomach is empty.
Here's this teacher again, this rabbi named Jesus,
telling stories that don't sound like the stories
that you grew up with in synagogue. You heard
about shepherds leaving their flocks of sheep,
about women sweeping for coins, about farmers
tossing seed in ridiculous places. And every
time he takes something ordinary, bread, lamps,
vines, fields, and he cracks it open until you
can see God in it. But this story he's about
to tell, it doesn't smell like the others. It
smells like money, big money, dirty money. And
right away, the people in that crowd listening
to Jesus' words would have stiffened because
everybody in that crowd knows where money like
that comes from. Jesus says, For it will be like
a man going on a journey who called his servants
and entrusted to them his property, to one he
gave five talents, to another two, to another
one, to each. According to his own ability, then
he went away. Five talents, two talents, one
talent, and the crowd gasps. Because a talent
isn't just a silver coin jingling in your pocket.
A talent is 20 years worth of wages for a laborer.
It is a lifetime of sweat, palaces, broken backs.
One talent is more money than your life will
ever see in three generations. Again, the math.
Five talents is $4 million. Two is $1 .6 million,
and then the other $800 ,000, right? So the amount
of money that we're actually talking about on
the table here in real dollars and American dollars
today, $6 .5 million in total all at once. Jesus
isn't talking about birthday money. He's talking
about landlord money, empire money, King Herod
money. And the second he says it, the crowd knows.
This story is not about your piano playing a
church or your ability to organize the monthly
potluck. This is a story about power. This is
about a system that keeps us hungry while others
go and build bigger barns. And let's sit with
the weight of that for a moment. You're a Galilean
farmer. You've got four kids, a small plot of
land. Your family has worked for generations.
You rise before dawn. You bend your back all
day in May. Maybe. You bring in just enough grain
to feed your family and keep seed for next year's
planting. But when the harvest comes, a man on
horseback rides down from Sepphoris or Jerusalem.
He's got soldiers at his back and a scroll in
his hand. He says, the land isn't really yours
anymore. It's fleece and taxes are due. Tribute
to Caesar is due. Oh, and the tithe to the temple?
Rent? To the landlord, by the time everybody
takes their cut first, you live staring at an
empty granary. That's how a man gets five talents
to throw around. That's how a master reaps where
he doesn't sow. He reaps from you. He gathers
from your neighbor. He bleeds villages dry until
he's fat and comfortable. So when Jesus says
a master gave five talents to one servant, two
to another, one to another, everyone in the crowd
knows exactly the kind of man Jesus is talking
about. And it ain't God. It's the kind of man
you owe money to. The kind of man who holds your
debt in one hand and the keys to your future
in the other. The kind of man who walks away
rich while you are left standing there begging.
That is the weight of a talent. Not silver, suffering.
Not just money, but stolen memory. The master
leaves town. The first servant doesn't wait a
second. He takes those five talents, an obscene
fortune, and goes hustling. Now think, friends,
think. How do you double wealth in a world where
there's no stock market, no startups, no clean
investments? You squeeze harder. You charge even
more interest. You take more land, more grain,
more olives. You bleed the poor twice as much
as before. And sure enough, five becomes ten.
And the second servant does exactly the same
thing, smaller scale, same method. Two becomes
four. Both of them playing the empire's game
and playing it well. And then comes the third.
He takes that one talent, 20 years worth of wages,
and he feels its heaviness in his hand. He looks
at the silver, and he sees his neighbor's empty
cupboard. He sees children going without bread.
He sees the broken backs of workers who get nothing
while the coin rolled downhill into the master's
lap, and he says, I won't do it. I'm not going
to play this game. So he digs a hole. He buries
it in the ground, packs the dirt back down, and...
According to Jewish law, that's not laziness,
that's faithfulness. The exo -biblical text called
the Mishnah, don't want to get into the Mishnah
tonight, but it's like commentaries on the Torah,
says the safest, most honorable way to guard
someone else's money was to bury it in the ground.
That way when it's returned, it's untouched.
The third servant doesn't gamble. He doesn't
exploit. He doesn't squeeze more out of the poor.
He resists. After a long time, Jesus says, the
master came back. The first servant struts forward.
Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I've
made five more. And the master grins. Well done,
good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy
of your master. Second servant does the same,
doubles it, another handshake, another blessing.
Third steps forward, dirt still under his nails.
His voice trembles, but his eyes are steady.
And he says, Master, I knew you were a hard man.
reaping where you did not sow, gathering where
you did not scatter seed. So I was afraid. I
went and hid your talent in the ground. Here,
take back what is yours. And the master's face
contorts with fury. You wicked and lazy servant.
You knew, did you? You knew that I reap where
I do not sow? Then you should have at least put
my money with the bankers and I would have received
it with interest. Take this talent from him and
give it to the one with ten. Cast this worthless
servant into the outer darkness where there'll
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And the crowd
listening to Jesus tell this parable would have
felt that silence fall. Because they know this
story. They've seen neighbors cast out for not
playing along. They've seen prophets shamed,
rebels crucified, widows forgotten. And in their
economy, in their world, they know what it costs
to say no. And notice this. This is the hinge
to my whole point tonight. The master in the
parable never argues with the third servant's
accusations. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't say,
no, you've misunderstood me. He owns it. He accepts
this description of himself as one who reaps
where he did not sow. and gather where he did
not scatter and write their church. It's proof
that the master in this story cannot stand in
for God. Parables always point us to some unchangeable,
holy nature of God's character. And God cannot
be described as one who cheats, exploits. and
steals. If the master is truly that kind of man,
the bad guy, and you know what? Jesus makes it
a point to make sure we see him as that kind
of man. Then God cannot be the master in this
parable. Which means the popular interpretation
that we must join with the master in multiplying
his wealth if we want to retain God's blessing
simply cannot be correct. To do so would mean
that this interpretation asks us to attribute
injustice to God. That is not who he is. Here's
the twist. The outer darkness, the place of shame,
exclusion, abandonment, that's where Jesus goes.
He's the one who will be cast out of the city
gates. He's the one who will be nailed between
two thieves. He's the one who will stand with
the condemned and the forgotten. So when Jesus
tells us this story, he's not warning you about
being unproductive. He's inviting you to see
what it looks like when the kingdom really shows
up. Not in the counting houses with the smug
servants who have doubled their master's wealth,
but in the darkness with the one who has just
simply refused to exploit others. The so -called
wicked and lazy servant is the only one who tells
the truth. You reap where you don't sow. And
for that truth, he's punished. But in that punishment,
he also stands shoulder to shoulder with the
Son of Man. Now, let's bring it home. We know
this story in our bones, don't we? This isn't
just Galilee. This is Oklahoma. It's the family
today crushed under payday loans with 400 % interest.
It's the oil company leasing your land for pennies,
leaving you with poisoned water and a promise
in cash. Single mom who has to work two jobs
because the landlord keeps raising the rent.
We've seen bastards who reap where they don't
sow. We've seen the servants who play along,
who get ahead by leaning harder on the backs
of the poor. And sometimes, friends, the only
fateful move is to bury the coin, to refuse to
play, to say, I will not double in your exploitation.
And when you make that choice, that will get
you cast out. You will not be in the master's
good graces. You will not be invited to the banquet
of empire, but you also will be standing right
where Jesus is. So let's put our sandals back
on for a moment. What are you going to do with
the talent you find in your hand? Will you play
along? Will you double the empire's wealth, keep
your head down, get a pat on the back from the
masters of this world? Or will you bury it? Will
you refuse to be complicit even if it costs you
your place at the table? Because here's the gospel
truth. The outer darkness isn't empty. Christ
is already there. He's waiting for you in the
place where the castoffs land. The gnashing of
teeth isn't the last word. Resurrection is. So
take courage, my dear friends. Don't play the
master's game. Bury the coin. Stand with the
crucified. Walk in the dark. Because that's where
the kingdom of God really breaks in. Amen? Amen.
Thanks, guys. Friend, if this word stirred you,
rattled you, Maybe even made you feel a little
uncomfortable. You know what? That's what Jesus
was trying to do. The parable of the talents
isn't a warm little productivity sermon. It's
a warning and a promise. A warning that systems
of this world will reward complicity and punish
resistance. But also a promise. But the outer
darkness isn't the end of the story. Because
Jesus meets us there. He is the light no darkness
can overcome. So as you walk back into your week,
don't let the empire set your agenda. Let grace
set your steps. Let courage steady your hands.
And if you find yourself in the dark, remember,
you're not alone. The crucified Christ has already
gone ahead of you and resurrection is waiting
on the other side. Before you click away, would
you do me a favor? Like, share, subscribe, drop
a comment, because every interaction helps us
build this front porch a little wider. It lets
someone weary and worn out stumble across a word
of grace they might not have heard otherwise.
You're not just supporting a podcast, you're
helping keep the porch light on for somebody
wandering in the dark. Until next time, walk
steady, bury that coin if you must, and trust
that Jesus We'll meet you in the dark. That's
where the kingdom comes. I'll see you next time.